Written for Operation Werewolf by Operative 413
“A prince ought to have no other aim or thought, nor select anything else for his study, than war…” – The Prince, Machiavelli
“The life of man upon earth is a warfare, and his days are like the days of a hireling.” – The Book of Job
The Book of Job uses “war” to represent strain, slavery, and life’s endless burdens. In contrast, Machiavelli describes war as the sole study of rulers and the means for the lowly to reach greatness. It’s a means of ascent and somehow life-affirming. Those rulers who don’t keep it at the forefront of their minds are displaced–as they should be.
War, then, is a constant. It’s fought with guns by states and gangs. It’s fought in a more dishonest manner with media smears and betrayals. War is simply the eternal struggle for power, through whatever means.
Most of us don’t deal with an invading army. Yet some of us wish we did…anything for a sense of clear purpose. Of course, there’s also this despairing, nagging feeling that their world isn’t even worth fighting for. No wonder so many feel the temptation of the noose, the needle, or the gun. In a society like this, depression is a sign of vitality.
Why is it this way? Machiavelli knew that wise rulers must master both the war of force and the war of fraud. In the former, enemies are defeated honestly. In the latter, they are reduced to “hirelings” through deceit.
Clearly, we’re in the latter position today, and it’s been shaped this way deliberately.
In The Prince, Machiavelli advises rulers “to choose the fox and the lion; because the lion cannot defend himself against snares and the fox cannot defend himself against wolves.” A ruler, he says, should be “half beast and half man,” and attributes the law as fitting to men, and force as fitting to beasts.
Yet he also dispassionately notes the “faithlessness of princes” and the worthlessness of promises. “He who has known best how to employ the fox has succeeded best,” he says. A leader should be a “great pretender and dissembler.”
If that’s what’s fitting to men, I prefer beasts.
Machiavelli advises, accurately, that even when a prince plots the destruction of his enemies, people should see him as “merciful, faithful, humane, upright, and religious.” That sounds familiar.
How often do we hear sanctimonious, self-righteous slogans or pleas of victimhood, guilting us into surrendering power and control over our own lives? It’s nothing but a trick–a cynical way of gaining power, self-interest disguised as self-sacrifice.
Yet Machiavelli was just explaining the way things work. Whatever men or women say, life is about the pursuit of power. The more someone claims altruism, the more you should suspect their motives.
However, I think if he was alive today, Machiavelli would rewrite some of his axioms. He dealt with men like Lorenzo the Magnificent, Cesare Borgia, Julius II. Even his “foxes” possessed virtú, the drive to accomplish great deeds.
We’re in a world without lions. When you look at so-called “elites” in the media, in politics, in culture… does anyone feel fear? Awe? Even respect? You’re more likely to feel utter contempt. Yet at the end of the day, these are the people who rule you. Today, a journalist triggered by a mean tweet ultimately has more power than the most highly trained soldier.
The virtues of the “lion”–the ability to fight, to hunt, to lead groups of men–seem antiquated. Some tell us men themselves are outdated.
We’re ruled, in short, by foxes, by the masters of the lie. They’ve ensnared the lions, or at least tamed them. Proud boasts about strength or bragging on social media doesn’t disguise this reality.
Still, Machiavelli also says the “fox cannot defend himself against the wolves.” There’s something more to this than just metaphor.
The Wolf is a powerful archetype that reaches back to the origins of many cultures. The Wolf is the outcast, yet also works as part of a cohesive unit, united under a natural hierarchy. The Wolf doesn’t simply try to overwhelm a foe with a direct charge. It hunts, it tracks, it uses skill and an uncanny wisdom to bring down its prey. More than that, by working as a group, it can overwhelm even the largest creature.
And, as Machiavelli says, the fox cannot defend itself against the outsider, the beast in the night. Outside the civilized realm, that is, the controlled system, tricks and fraud don’t work.
Today, only in the darkness can truth be victorious.
Machiavelli advises those who wish to gain renown to be a “either a true friend or a downright enemy… he who conquers does not want doubtful friends who will not aid him in the time of trial.” Here again, we see this idea of an “honor culture,” where respect and fear are linked.
Strong words must be backed by strong deeds, else they weaken the speaker. We live in a time where, thanks to social media, there’s more boasting and bragging than ever, yet the culture is dominated by those pose as victims and weaklings. There’s a lesson here in the real nature of modern power, for those with the wit to see it.
How do we respond? It’s not fitting to cringe, fake, and pretend like the lords of lies we see on the blue screens. It wouldn’t work anyway. We can’t deceive like those born to it.
No, in an age of decline, we must take a road different than that of the fox or the lion. We must look to the periphery, to the darkness, to the real world that exists apart from online gossip or media manipulation. We look to the Wolf.
Rather than trying to beat liars at their own system, we must defeat them by ignoring them. We must approach life with a radical sincerity. We must use terms like honor, loyalty, tribe, and ritual and defend our banner with the fanaticism of rabid animals.
At the same time, this must be done deliberately and with structure. We must be aware that we are connecting with something vital lying within the very blood of our species.
This is why Werewolf Elite has been created.
You are already in a war. You are ruled. Yet you still have a choice.
Do you want to throw away your life in pointless braggadocio and self-deception?
Do you want the life of a “hireling,” yearning for the peace of the grave?
Or do you want a chance to carve out a saga that means something, that offers you a path, purpose and Initiation into something greater?
That is what has been created. That is what begins in just a few weeks. This is not simply a fitness plan, some self-help group, or a logo for edgy photos. This is a program of Total Life Reform, an honor culture of group accountability, and standards that will be ruthlessly enforced.
The purpose is nothing less than to wage the war of life in a new way, to remake the world as we see fit.
If you’re satisfied with the way things are, then this isn’t for you.
If you’re scared of some mean words online, there are other things you can do with your time.
If you’re content to be a “hireling,” read no more.
If you want your life to mean something, sign up for updates here. Werewolf Elite launches December 1. And we intend to shake the cosmos with what we are creating.
This is the Wolf Road to power, the means to tear free of the lies and snares that are holding you back and to remake yourself in the forge of trial, struggle, and brotherhood. We don’t promise you something easy. We promise you something that will make you stronger, more capable, more driven, and, for the few, a brotherhood that not even death can sunder.
“Nothing recommends a prince so highly to the world as great enterprises and noble expressions of his own valor and conduct,” wrote Machiavelli.
It’s still possible for such things, even in this world. For you princes of men out there, for you who still have the blood of victorious ancestors and conquerors, this is your sign.